


Stuck in Korea!

by gahsebun, x_IA_x



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Baekhyun's Grandmother, Chanyeol's Banana, Chaptered, Comedy, EXO Showtime, F/M, Fangirls, Fluff, Humor, Hyperactive kid, I do not know how tags work, I'm new to tagging haha, Introvert, KPOP addict, Mature and cold kid, Multi, OT12 - Freeform, Weird fic, hyper fangirls, i guess, lucky fangirls, rich heiress, romcom, ultimate fangirl dream, unrealistic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-06-08 13:46:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6857452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gahsebun/pseuds/gahsebun, https://archiveofourown.org/users/x_IA_x/pseuds/x_IA_x
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens if you dump five unique, lucky, but incredibly irresponsible KPOP fans in the beautiful and happy country called South Korea?</p><p> </p><p><b>They get stuck.</b><br/>"Oh crap, looks like we're stuck in Korea."<br/><b>They get lost.</b><br/>"How the fuck did we get lost in the woods again?"<br/><b>They get to meet a grandma.</b><br/>"Wait. YOU'RE BAEKHYUN'S GRANDMA AND THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT LAY REALLY WANTED TO VISIT IN EXO'S SHOWTIME!?"</p><p> <br/><b>They get to be the luckiest fangirls ever to grace this world.</b><br/>"Shit. Did Byun-fucking-Baekhyun just slam the door right infront of our faces?"<br/>"All we wanted to do was to deliver this thank-you-for-saving-our-lives gift to his grandma."<br/>"Do you think he'd let us in if we shove this incredibly appetizing watermelon in his face?"<br/>"I-I don't think so..."<br/>"Wait. What if he prefers bananas more?"<br/>"Oh, oh! I know what he loves. Chanyeol's banana."<br/>"...what the fuck."<br/>"Shut up guys."<br/>"Why are we even talking about this."<br/>"Let's just force this door open. CHARGE!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted in Asianfanfics but it also had to be here lol. I apologize for the weirdness.

Like normal tourists/students, they just visited Korea to go sight-seeing and simultaneously write their paper. Realistically speaking, they knew in their hearts that their chances of even seeing KPOP stars are too slim and so they accepted it fully (so heartbreaking) and just decided to work hard for their research. What they expected to happen, though, and what _really_ did are two different things. And their stay in the country was… well…

 

It was more than what they hoped for.

 

 

* * *

**xXxXx**

 

They rubbed their eyes and blinked repeatedly, trying to see if the statement saying 'One-Way Only' was a hallucination.

Erin staggered backwards. “Oh crap…”

They stared at each other with horror written in their eyes and on their faces. They were so pale it looked as if their faces were drained of blood. Rina gulped and dared to continue the unspoken reality that they were in right now.

**“…Looks like we’re stuck in Korea.”**

 

 

* * *

**xXxXx**

 

“This is it! THIS IS HOW WE ARE GOING TO DIE! I can’t believe it. How can this happen? Here we are lost deep in the woods, going around in circles, freezing to death, without coats, food, signal, _anything_ , and my cellphone’s battery is going to die any minute!” Erin ranted, as she pulled her hair out in frustration and paced back and forth, a distraught look etched on her face.

Well, a distraught look etched on _all_ their faces.

Nobody can blame them. They were _hypothetically_ facing their demise as we speak.

With no one knowing where they are.

In a foreign country.

Deep in the woods.

Mitzi tried to laugh their frustration off. “C-calm down, Erin…”

Erin turned to look at her cousin with an enraged expression. “CALM DOWN!? YOU’RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN!? THIS IS YOUR FAULT! DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A ‘MAJESTIC LAKE’ TO YOU? HUH?”

Katarina pressed her back against the cold wood of the tree behind her to watch the ruckus that is Erin and Mitzi having a yell off. She watched as the eldest tried to calm the two cousins down and is clearly failing. She frowned. _Instead of arguing and wasting their breath, they could try to rest so that they could have a better chance at surviving…_

Ever the observant one, she turned to look at her surroundings to at least try to figure out how they could return to civilization, when she noticed it. _Are those… little balls of lights?_

She walked to where she saw it and moved the branches of a tree away to clear the view.

There was a house. With lights on. Which means there were people.

Rina let out a huge sigh of relief.

They were saved.

 

* * *

**xXxXx**

 

They pushed Xyriel to the door and made her knock. “Why me?” the indignant russet-head asked. “You’re the eldest,” Erin retorted. “Which means you get to knock and save our asses,” Rina added. Glancing at all the expectant eyes of her dongsaengs, Xy sighed and turned to the door. She didn’t really have a choice.

She knocked three times.

_Silence~_

“I-is there anyone home?” Kiara whispered. “I think there is,” Rina whispered back. “There are lights.”

“Unless they were energy wasting rich people who don’t care if they leave the lights open,” Erin commented, still in a hushed tone.

Xyriel sweat-dropped. _Why were they whispering?_

Mitzi called their attention. “Hey there’s a doorbell!” she exclaimed, pointing at the device. “Unnie, go push it.”

Xyriel sighed again. _You’re in front of it already… Why don’t_ you _push it Mitzi?_ Nevertheless, she still went to do the task.

The sound of the doorbell echoed through the dead of the night.

 

 

Kiara gasped. “O-omo…”

“What is it?”

She pointed at the sign on top of the door.

_Byun Household._

“Shit.”

“I-it can’t be…”

“There are probably tons of Byuns in Korea. Like how there are tons of Kims. What are the odds?”

 

The door opened to reveal a grandmother. She smiled. “What brings you here at this hour, young ladies? Do you need something?”

 

 

 

 _What_ are _the odds?_


	2. Stuck in Korea!

         “I’m sorry!”

 

Erin squeaked as she accidentally bumped an American tourist. She didn’t even spare the person a glance and just continued running. She really wasn’t much of a ‘social’ type. Every time she looks a person in the eye, she always freaks out. The moment she stares into those pools, she suddenly feels getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller. Which is really something since her physique is already petite. What more when she actually tries to talk to them. In all of her lifetime, she can count the people that she can talk to, without her knees shaking and her forehead sweating, just with the fingers of both of her hands.

A total of seven people.

Two of which are her parents. The five left being her only friends.

Talk about anti-social.

And naturally, like most stereotypical anti-socials, her usual companions are her gadgets. The most important of all is her laptop. Every second she’s not hanging out or doing stuff related to school and her everyday life, she’s seen fiddling with her laptop. It’s either writing fanfics or doing something K-Pop related or playing online games and surfing the net. And if one gets absorbed in playing online, you tend to be competitive.

Which leads to the reason why she was running in the first place.

She lifted her head high, trying to catch the black lump of hair her friend and their group’s maknae, Kiara, has. As absurd as it sounds, they were having a race.

In the friggin airport.

And what made it more entertaining and exciting was the fact that the airport was jam packed. She cursed. Why did she have to be born vertically-challenged? And why did puberty didn’t even visit her at least once? She was already 19 for crying out loud!

Glancing at the blue sign, she found that she was already in Gate Five, which means that there are five more Gates to go until somebody wins. Five more Gates to go until they can finally go to the place where they were absolutely dying to visit. She couldn’t help but feel the warm feeling in her stomach and grin. But at the mean time, she shook the feeling away and fuelled her competitiveness. Where was that maknae?

Squinting her eyes, she finally caught sight of Kiara. She smirked seeing that she was also having a problem trying to tear through the crowds. _I should at least use my height as an advantage now,_ she thought. She searched for an opening in front of her and once again commented on how the Philippine airport was just too crowded. Did everyone schedule their flights all in the same day?

Finally, she found an opening and ducked. It was easier trying to find a way there than pushing other people. The only disadvantage was that she wouldn’t be able to monitor her enemies’ movements. _Now that you mentioned it... Where was Mitzi?_

Mitzi, the second oldest in their group, was the third and final contestant in their little Airport Run. But ever since she miraculously disappeared when they were racing up the escalators, Erin concluded that she just quitted because there was no prize. _Mitzi-unnie needs to get really motivated to get serious anyway,_ she shrugged. _She probably went back to Xyriel-unnie and Rina._

A few meters behind them, Xyriel (the eldest) and Katarina (maknae and Kiara’s older twin sister), the only sensible members in their group, were trying their best acting as if they don’t know the other three. Well, their efforts were futile. Rina, as a matter of fact, was an exact replica of Kiara. Their only difference was their hair. Rina has straight and Kiara has wavy-curly. Some people, who saw Kiara running ahead of them a few seconds ago, gawked at Rina. Their expressions clearly tell what they were thinking.

_“W-what? H-how? But she was just running a few seconds ago!? How did she end up being there?”_

On the other hand, Xyriel, being the lady and wonderful unnie she is, can’t help but give worried glances to the direction Erin and co. bolted. She was obviously worried about her dongsaengs. Well, what if they were suddenly arrested for over speeding?

Erin grinned as she past Gate 8. She finally managed to overtake Kiara. Just two more gates to go and she’ll be crowned winner. Pfft... It was already predicted since the start of the race anyway.

She increased her speed as she passed Gate 9. Almost there. Almost there. Almost-

A hand grabbed her arm roughly, causing her to suddenly stop and slightly jerk backward. Taking advantage of Erin’s unbalance, Mitzi, the owner of the hand, sprinted as fast as she can to the finish line. The reason why she disappeared a while ago was because she made a little detour, but managed to catch up just in time. Dazed, Erin blinked for a few seconds but after realizing what was happening, she activated “Godspeed mode”, catching up to Mitzi and elbowing her, trying to stop her unnie. They both slowed down, so engrossed in trying to stop each other that they didn’t notice that Kiara was about to cross the finish line. They only realized this after hearing her triumphant squeals. “OOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! KYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! I won! I won! I won!” she screamed jumping up and down. Mitzi and Erin just stared at her with their mouths open. How can they forget about her?

A few minutes later, Rina and Xyriel arrived. Kiara was still squealing her head off and Mitzi and Erin had really weird expressions on that the two just had to scoot away. And face-palm. Hard.

_“Calling all passengers on Flight 2088 to Korea, please proceed to Gate 10.”_

Everyone one of them stopped and stared at each other, the previous atmosphere gone, with wide smiles on their faces and completely giddy with excitement.

 _Goodbye, Philippines. Korea, here we come!_  

 

* * *

 

 

Xyriel, staring out the window whilst listening to the music in her phone, has finally achieved serenity after the overly exciting events that passed. She sighs as she thinks that she can only dream of such happiness. The kid behind her has been kicking her seat non-stop, much to her dismay.

Lee Xyriel, the daughter of a wealthy businessman and heir to an international company, shouldn’t even be here in the first place. Why was she flying second class anyway?

A girl that had grey shoulder-length hair, with pink streaks, started snoring rather loudly beside her. Park Mitzi’s the name and she was her friend, along with three others seated at the opposite side. Mitzi’s snore was a constant reminder of how Xyriel’s bank account suddenly dawned zeros.

One regretful afternoon, Xyriel had entrusted her debit card to none other than the one named Park Mitzi and Kunieda Kiara. Both seemed enthused with the fact that they had a filthy rich friend and spent a whole lot of cash. The ATM card was terminated and Xyriel’s parents are still arranging some papers to renew the now empty card.

They bought numerous KPOP merchandise, a hell lot of food and a Yalos Diamond TV. Why did they buy a television set that’s studded with 160 diamonds? Oh, that’s right; because it was sparkly. They would stay up all night, just by watching the TV glow, and become very sleepy in the morning.  Thus, the snore reminder became a thing.

Xyriel glances on the opposite side as she heard an even louder snore. It belongs to Mitzi’s partner in crime, Kunieda Kiara, a Japanese girl that had an identical twin sister named Katarina. The only distinct feature they had in physical appearances is their hair; Kiara had curly hair while Rina had straight hair. Although when you get to know them, their personalities differ greatly. Kiara is carefree, optimistic, and cheerful. On the other hand, Rina often comes off as a cold person but truthfully, she’s just very protective of her twin.

Comfortably lodged between the twins, Nini (also known as Erin) snored quietly as she slept peacefully. Not forgetting what and who bound them all together, Cha Erin’s passion for KPOP was a little more intense than any normal fangirl out there and that passion was the beginning of everything. She’s an introvert unlike her cousin, Mitzi. They live under the same roof so, eventually, Mitzi was influenced in becoming a KPOPPER as well.

All of them attended the same Advanced Journalism class. At first, Xyriel didn’t know anyone but as the first meeting ended, she gained four new friends. It’s quite a hilarious story—how they became friends. And it’s because they had one thing in common. Of course, it’s none other than KPOP.

Xyriel was trying ever so hard not to fall asleep and die out of boredom on that day. She loves writing but sometimes it’s the teacher’s fault for having a voice that’s so slow that turtles can outrun it. Anyway, sitting in the middle of class doesn’t get any better when suddenly a very familiar tune comes on.

 

 

“Come in~”

 

 

Naturally, when a hardcore EXO-L hears that they would stop what they’re doing and clap their hands along with the music. That’s what the five of them did and it got them in trouble afterwards. The sound was from Erin’s phone, she forgot to put it on silent mode.

As punishment, they were each given detention slips and had to stay for an hour to reflect on their behavior. Usually, detention sounds like something deathly irksome but for them it sort of became a group hangout. Being in detention was like being in paradise, well at least that was the case for the five girls. While staying there, they learned a lot about each other. They even named themselves if ever they get to debut as a group, VIXEN.

Reminiscing the memory, Xyriel smiles as she dozes off while listening to the song that started it all—Overdose by EXO. She prays that this flight could be over as soon as possible and that they land safely. She also thanks the Lord for letting Mitzi, Erin, Kiara, and Rina become a part of her life. She admits that sometimes they can be such a pain but there’s no denying that they are the best thing that ever happened to her since KPOP. And that’s saying a huge statement.

 

 

* * *

 

_Bzzt. Bzzzzt._ Katarina shook her head trying to get rid of the annoying little bug that kept bothering her. _Bzzzt… na. Bzztt….Ri…Bzzt… Na…_ Rina’s forehead crinkled as she slept. Was the bug just trying to say her name? She tilted her head to the other side, away from the annoying pestering nuisance.

She made herself comfortable and was on the brink of being sound asleep once again when the bug made its way to her ear, blowing on it. Rina groaned and raised her hand to the direction of the pest and started swatting vigorously. She felt her hand hit something rather hard and then heard a pained yelp. She frowned. _The voice sounded awfully like Erin-unnie…_

But why the heck would her unnie sleep beside her in her bed? The last time she checked, they were living in different dorms so she shrugged it off as her imagination. Her pillow wouldn’t have talked ( _as if_ ).

The bug then began to poke her side. She growled. Can’t she just get sleep? She was really tired from all the practice she and her friends had for the past weeks. They strived hard in rehearsing because they wanted to win the first place prize in a KPOP dance competition.

And the prize was none other than five tickets to _effin_ South Korea—the land of their dreams.

They actually won ( _can you believe that!?_ ) and the day after the competition they found themselves packing their bags and a day after again, they were now off to Korea.

Efficiently enough, they had this journalism research thing to conduct and since they were heading to the royal place where KPOP reigned supreme, they decided that they might as well just choose Korea as the topic of their paper. True enough, they wouldn’t be able to actually just enjoy and tour SoKor as they still had to do ( _heavens forbid)_ dreaded schoolwork, but any assignment or paper or whatever to be done ought to be fun if you’re going to do it in the place you wanted to visit since well _forever_ (or maybe the time you started to be a KPopper).

_Bzztt… Rina Bzttt… Unnie! Bzzt bzzt bzzzt bzzt wake bzzzzt up!_

The bug began buzzing louder than ever and Katarina mentally scoffed. _Leave me the fuck alone!_ She decided to just act as if she wasn’t hearing anything. Maybe the insect would soon get tired of annoying her and just leave. She vaguely heard someone chuckle. “She really is hard to wake up, huh?”

_Wait was that Erin? Again?_

Another person huffed. “Yeah, unnie. I would have actually yelled right now… if only we weren’t in an airplane.”

_And Kiara? What were they doing in her bedroom?_

The poking of the insect resumed. Oh how she wanted to just squish the annoying little bug right now and—

_Wait. Can insects poke?_

She slowly opened her eyes a bit. A blurry of colors, black and apricot-ish, greeted her. _Wow,_ she thought. _What a big bug… Squishing it wouldn’t kill it. I need to put it on fire._

She stared at the blob of colors for a little bit more. It was then when her vision slowly focused. The “bug” started to change its form to her beloved sister’s face— _Wait, WHAT!?_

She jolted upwards and blinked, taking in her surroundings. Instead of the desk that she would see the first thing she wakes, there were rows of heads on chairs in front of her. She looked to her right and saw Erin and Kiara who looked relieved that she finally woke up. To her left were her other unnies, Xyriel and Mitzi. Xyriel smiled at her while Mitzi just tiredly rubbed her eyes—it seems that she just woke up as well.

Rina blinked again (She actually looked like a lost puppy). This was so not her room.

Erin snickered and patted Rina’s head. “You’re just in time. Go fasten your seatbelts, we’re going to land.”

 

 

They couldn’t contain their excitement as they filed out of the airport, hauling their suitcases, into South Korean air. As they finally stepped on the ground, they stopped to take in and _inhale_ all of South Korea’s glory. They couldn’t tone down their fangirl feels and actually squealed out loud. Mitzi even lifted her arms up and twirled around, Kiara joining her soon after. Erin took her phone out and started taking pictures.

Katarina thought that today was the happiest day of her life. A bright smile was etched on her face and she was so full of glee that she might actually cry. “Yah, Mitzi! Don’t act too excited, you lived here for a while after all,” Xyriel glared playfully at the hyperactive second eldest. Mitzi stuck her tongue out at Xyriel as a response.

Rina giggled. “Yeah. You would think this was the first time she’d been here,” she commented. “You’ve been here too before, right Xy-unnie?”

The russet-haired girl nodded. “Yeah, when I was a kid. I was too young, though. I’m glad for this experience.”

Rina then turned to Erin who tapped her shoulder to take a selca.

Mitzi, Erin, and Xyriel are actually Koreans (Xyriel was half). Erin’s family had their jobs situated in the Philippines so that’s why Erin lived there ever since she was born. Mitzi grew up in China as her mother remarried there but when she was eight, her mother passed away and her grandmother and aunt in Korea decided to take her in. When she was twelve, she decided to move to the Philippines and stay at her other aunt (Erin’s mom) and to continue her studies as well. Xyriel, though, grew up in Europe as her parents’ stayed and met there.

They took another selca, but this time as a group.

“So… where are we gonna stay?” Kiara asked after they were done goofing around.

“Oh, I’m going to text our aunt to say that we arrived already. She’ll pick us up tomorrow and we’re going to stay at her house but for tonight, we’d be staying at a hotel,” Mitzi stated.

They nodded her heads and picked their bags up, walking to the direction of the buses. Kiara, ever so curious, decided to ask another question. “Well… until when are we going to stay?”

They stopped in their tracks. Katarina frowned. Now that they were talking about it, she didn’t know until when. And by the looks of it, even the others. The organizer of the event just said that they would take care of their transportation… and that’s it. They didn’t even before to read the information that they e-mailed to them after the contest because they were too excited.

“Oh, wait a minute let me check.” Xyriel took her phone and opened the e-mail they received when they won.

Maybe it was just Rina’s imagination but why does she have a really bad feeling? She tried to ignore it but her intuition was always right.

On cue, Xyriel almost dropped her phone. She seemed really surprised. “Oh my gosh…” she muttered.

“What is it?” Mitzi asked, worry now written on her face. She snatched the phone and the rest stared at the screen, reading bullet after bullet until they came across the last sentence.

Rina’s face blanched. _What the hell._

They rubbed their eyes and blinked repeatedly, trying to see if the statement was a hallucination.

Erin staggered backwards. “Oh crap…”

They stared at each other with horror written in their eyes and on their faces. They were so pale it looked as if their faces were drained of blood. Rina gulped and dared to continue the unspoken reality that they were in right now.

“…Looks like we’re stuck in Korea.”


	3. Cheap Hotels and Oranges

Outside of Incheon Airport, people were buzzing around to get to their next destination. They can't wait to see the wonderful sights South Korea has to offer. Naturally, it was crowded and noisy, people rushing from here and there, greeting each other as they see familiar faces while getting in line for the airport buses, but in the middle of it all stood a group of young maidens unsure of what to do after the cruel truth was slapped onto them.

“…Looks like we’re stuck in Korea.”

The group, VIXEN (as they liked to call themselves), had a total meltdown.

Well, who wouldn't be if they found out they were stranded in a foreign country? To top it all off, they had insufficient funds to fully enjoy their stay. _'Perfect, just freaking perfect!'_ Xyriel thought as she stared at the damned email with rage.

She looked at her friends and immediately she reminded herself to stay calm, she _is_ the eldest after all. She has to prevent anyone from completely going berserk right now. Kiara's seem to be in the verge of crying, Rina's mumbling profanities, Mitzi’s frozen and seemed to forgot how to breathe, and Erin looks as if she just saw the date of her death—all of it has to be stopped somehow.

With a calm and authoritative tone, she boomed, "EVERYBODY STOP!". Of course, everybody quit their tantrums and turned to the eldest. "First, we need to find a cheap place that can accommodate us for a night," all of them nodded at the statement.

Mitzi raised her hand as if answering a question in school and chipped in, "Oh! I know a place! It's called Hotel Hu and it's supposed to be really cheap and extremely close to the airport. I’ll tell my aunt that we’d be staying there for the night and then tomorrow, she’ll pick us up." A few sighs of relief were heard at the thought of being five minutes close to relaxation.

Mitzi then led them to Hotel Hu (with them lugging their suitcases and all throughout the walk) and from its exterior, it's obvious that it's not a 5-star hotel. _Heck, it's not even close to getting a star_ , Xyriel thought. But alas, Xyriel's just gonna have to grin and bear it. They can't afford the luxurious hotel, Hyatt, though it's just in the vicinity.

As they reach the receptionist, they felt chills down their spine. The lobby was seriously freezing. It's no understatement that it was warmer outside. They got the cheapest room and quickly navigated through the halls, hoping that the temperature in their suite would be slightly different.

 

It wasn’t.

 

Mitzi whistled. “Well we did get the cheapest room so…” The group could just stare in dread at what they were seeing. Maybe for the others, it was just some sort of temporary shock, but for heiress extraordinaire Lee Xyriel who was used to high-end things and places? It was a _horror_ to behold. The room was small and cramped, with just one bed, an old wooden dresser with a stool, and a couch. The bedsheets and blankets had blotches of yellow on it and there were drops of suspicious-looking _God-forsaken_ unknown stains on the couch. The paint on the walls were slightly chipped, and there were patches of black on the carpet; Xyriel just _refuses_ to even check what the ‘black spots’ were. At a corner of the room, her eyes caught a door to the restroom. She _definitely_ wouldn’t be the volunteer to check it out.

She heard a sigh from her friends and heard Kiara say, “Well…um. Let’s make ourselves home, I guess.” And so with a grimace, they all entered the room.

 _It’s just for one night, Xy, just for one night._ Xyriel thought, reminding herself while unconsciously tip-toeing in the room, her nose crinkling in disgust. When she set her luggage down— _at a clean spot, thank you very much_ —she felt a tap and turned to see Erin with a sympathetic smile on her face. “Unnie, you deserve the bed. I’ll sleep here on the couch.”

“Thanks,” Xyriel replied, grateful for her friend. If it was possible, she’d rather not sleep at all. “Hey, at least the bathroom’s clean,” Mitzi exclaimed, closing the door of the bathroom behind her, then moving to sit on the stool in front of the dresser. Xyriel could only sigh in relief.

Soon enough, they all settled in. Erin got her laptop out and sat on the couch. Mitzi started to open the drawers of the dresser checking to see if there were freebies. Rina started to read a book, and Kiara whipped her phone out while unceremoniously flopping down on the bed, earning a glare from her sister due to the bounce. Xyriel just sighed and sat at the edge, thanking God that at least the bed was big enough to accommodate four of them.

“So aside from Erin who’ll sleep on the couch, the rest of us would be on the bed. We’ll fit if we sleep horizontally, though it’d be cramped and our feet would dangle off. Everybody cool with that?” Xyriel asked, ever the responsible one.

“As if we even have a choice,” Mitzi stated with a snort, combing through her hair and styling it to a simple French braid.

 _True_ , Xyriel admitted in her mind while the rest just hummed in agreement.

 

 

Minutes later, when silence engulfed them and everything was just too suffocating for her to bear, Xyriel found herself reciting the same line in her head over and over again. _It’s just one night Xy, just one night. You’re going to survive this._

.

.

.

.

Xyriel groaned.

 _Oh God_ , she needed some fresh air.

* * *

 

Kiara is bored.

 

She never really got diagnosed by a doctor but she considered herself having ADHD. It didn’t help that they were apparently stuck in a country with limited cash and currently staying in a small hotel room that narrowed her choices of what to do. She wasn’t like Erin who could stay all day staring at the brightly lit screen of her gadget or Katarina who is perfectly fine just by sitting in a corner, keeping quiet, and reading a book for prolonged hours. Kiara needed action—she craved it. She actually has this ‘thirty-minute limit’ where she can just stay focused doing one thing and after an hour, she would get tired and bored and start looking for another activity to keep her preoccupied.

And currently, she has reached the thirty-minute limit of fiddling with her phone.

She sighed and put the phone in her jacket pocket. _What can I do…? It’s soooo boring…_

She started to look at the hotel room and observe, trying to estimate the dimensions of the room and taking in all the details and keeping it into memory. It was kind of a last resort thing and just something to keep her preoccupied. She wasn’t a nerdy weirdo who would try to calculate the perimeter and area of every single place she visits in her free time…

_*cough*_

“Stop it!” She heard someone snap. She turned to Rina who was glaring at her and Kiara looked at her with confused eyes. “You were hyperactively bouncing on the bed,” her sister stated. “And due to your annoying movement I can’t read in peace.” Rina glowered at her twin so much Kiara felt that she was a mouse about to be eaten by a cat. The maknae gulped and apologized.

 _A bothered-while-reading-Rina is a really scary Rina,_ she thought to herself, shuddering.

It was then that she noticed that her two other unnies—the oldest ones in their group—were nowhere to be found in their room. She turned to Erin (she wouldn’t want to bother and piss Rina off) who was comfortably seated at the couch while typing away at her laptop ( _she’s probably writing a fanfic again…_ ). “Erin-unnie? Do you know where Xy-unnie and Mitzi-unnie went?” she asked. Erin shrugged. “They left a few minutes ago… Said something about fresh air or whatever.”

After the words ‘fresh air’ came out of the introvert’s mouth, Kiara was on her feet and dashing out of the room, saying a quick ‘I’ll be going with them, see you later!’ before slamming the door shut. She ran down the hallway and turned left to where the elevators were. She recognized Xyriel’s russet hair before the elevator doors closed shut.

Kiara grinned as she rushed to the other elevator and pressed a button. An arrow pointing down flashed red and she felt giddy with excitement. She was actually bouncing on her feet already. Now this was the action she wanted!

_Ding!_

The elevator doors weren’t even fully opened when she squished through and pressed the close button and the ‘G’ button next. She looked at her left and smiled kindly at the ahjusshi before turning her attention to the digital panel that showed what floor they were in already. She barely held her bright smile as she excitedly counted down to the ground floor. She felt as if she was in the Amazing Race.

She felt _free_.

And she liked being free. She would take advantage of the freedom while she still _had_ it.

As she reached the ground floor, her eyes took a quick sweep of her surroundings and noticed no Xyriel or Mitzi. With that, she sped to the doors and out into the open air. _Ah… Open air. I love the sound of that._

She looked to her left, then to her right, and saw the backs of her unnies before they disappeared around the corner. She ran after them and was ready to launch a sneak attack until she stopped and frowned.

They were gone. Xyriel and Mitzi were gone.

She scratched her head. _How can they have disappeared so fast?_

She decided to go look in the stores by the path because there was no possible and logical way that her friends would have vanished so quickly. _Unless they teleported…_  Kiara snorted. There was no scientific fact which showed that teleportation was possible (at least not _yet_ ). She knows the difference between fantasy and reality. She was about to enter the boutique which was nearest to her when she heard something that made her already gleeful mood rocket to another insanely blissful level. She turned to the man who was holding out pamphlets and completely missed her unnies—who walked out of the store she was about to enter—traipsing down the alley while chatting enthusiastically with each other.

Kiara took a pamphlet and scanned the paper she was holding. The moment she read _it_ , she knew she had to go and visit. There’s just this one thing she needs to consider…

 

* * *

 

 

Xiumin was just glad that they finally had a break.

With the preparations for the upcoming comeback, needless to say everyday was simply just hectic. For once, the eldest would like to have some time all to himself and worry about problematic stuff later. A one-day vacation isn't actually what he had planned but it's definitely better than nothing.

Xiumin decided that he would go outside Seoul and shake off the stress and burden he felt on his shoulders, and what better way to do it but by letting loose in a place outside the stuffiness of Seoul and the hectic schedules, practices, and etc. that it brings with it. He opted to go to Incheon—a nice change of scenery and not too far from where his responsibilities lie—the perfect place for him to hang out. D.O. seemed to think the same way as well, seeing as he chose to come along with Minseok.

Setting foot in Incheon heavily disguised, Minseok says his temporary goodbye to Kyungsoo and they part ways. Minseok doesn’t really have a particular destination in mind and allows himself to be carried by the wind while he walks. At some point, he sees a group of friends riding their bikes merrily in the streets. A wave of nostalgia suddenly comes upon him as he remembers the time when they were trainees and they would ride their bikes around without any worry of sasaeng fans mobbing them or having to protect their idol image. After all, they were still imperfect humans. It's actually sad that the memory seemed so distant to Minseok now.

A few minutes of strolling to god knows where, Xiumin decides to stop by a convenience store to pick up a few snacks for himself. On second thought, living with eleven other people means his share would most probably be gone by the time he gets home. So, as any intellectual person would do, he buys a whole lot of random food to make sure it's enough for everybody.

Minseok, always the cheapskate—even getting his other members to pay for him although he's the oldest—refuses to give more money for a plastic bag when there are perfectly good paper bags to use instead. He carries a big paper bag in front of his chest as he goes out of the store, almost covering up his line of vision. Now he's off to find Kyungsoo, wherever he went.

Suddenly something caught his eye, and he checks to make sure it wasn't an actual angel sent from above. He stopped on his tracks and stayed frozen staring at her. A girl—or should he say lady—with beautiful russet hair was walking from the corner, talking animatedly with her friend. Now, Xiumin didn't normally believe in love at first sight, but after this fateful encounter, he starts to question his own beliefs.

Minseok could practically hear the choir sing, accompanied by sweet melodious music in the background, as her hair flowed when the wind breezed through her direction. Everything is in slow motion as he continues to stare at her smile and laugh which makes him even more paralyzed. That is, until he realized that the angel was coming towards him and he instantly turned into panic mode—hoping and praying she hadn't noticed the love-sick stare and the dreamy eyes he was making. He thanked his lucky stars that he was wearing a face mask so she wouldn't have seen the dumb smile beneath it.

_Minseok, get a hold of yourself._

Xiumin tried to save his face from embarrassment and to get the hell out of there but he didn't realize how close she actually was and ultimately, bumped into her. It goes without saying that his groceries flew up in the air during the process. _Great, just freaking fantastic!_

Xyriel was definitely startled at what just happened (she honestly didn’t expect it to happen _at all_ ) but being the calm and collected person she is, she quickly regained composure and asked the guy if he was alright, testing her fluency in Korean in the process. "Are you okay? That was quite the collision."

_Oh my god. That little giggle at the end was freaking adorable. Wait, did she just speak to me? Okay, can my heart just calm the eff down for a moment? Pull yourself together, man! STOP STARING!!!_

"Oh y-yeah. I'm r-really so-sorry." Minseok tried to give a smooth answer but failed miserably as he stuttered in his words and he silently cursed himself for that. Now, he just wishes to be eaten alive by the ground, he's absolutely sure it's better than making a fool out of himself.

_Great, now I’m ruining my chances... WAIT WHAT CHANCES!? STOP THAT TRAIL OF THOUGHT MINSEOK! YOU HAVE A JOB AND YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO HAVE—_

"Let me help you with that." Xyriel noticed the now-fallen items on the ground and offers him some help.

_—BUT SHE IS JUST TOO KIND AND BEAUTIFUL AND HEAVENLY AND ohmygodMinseokshetalkedtoyouyouneedtoanswerquick._

"O-oh no, it's f-fine." Xiumin tried to decline her offer but it was obvious she wouldn't let go that easily.

"No, I insist." Xyriel smiled at him.

How could he refuse such a kind-hearted angel? He can't do anything but to thank the girl, "T-thank you."

_I know I just met her but she is PERFECT._

They silently pick up the groceries but her friend, Mitzi doesn't miss the few stolen glances of Mr. Stutterer here and there. What's even more hilarious is that her friend was completely oblivious and was just earnestly gathering the items. She could only laugh to herself and tease Xyriel later on.

Xyriel handed him the things and smiled at him saying, "Be careful next time."

Xiumin swore he melted on the spot once he saw that angelic smile but he can't die just yet, "Y-yeah. Sorry again."

_To: Minseok_

_Stop being such a sap and start to man-up. You are Kim Minseok, you are manly, you are hot, many people would like to marry you, so you should grow a pair and ACTUALLY make effort for the girl that finally caught your attention. DO SOMETHING, MAN!_

_From: Your ego_

 

Xyriel was almost on his way to his friend when she heard the guy speak up again but it was more of a murmur this time, "Hey, can I have your… uh.. name…ber?"

_To Minseok:_

_What's a nameber? You couldn't even decide to ask for a name or a number. Ugh, honestly Minseok just go and get outta there!_

_From: Your already bruised ego_

 

 _"_ Excuse me?" Xyriel asked as she didn't hear what he had asked. She's got this amused smile on her face because she's not totally dense after all but before she knew it, the guy was already running away for his life.

"NOTHING, I'M SORRY!" Xiumin immediately replied and ran as fast as he can away from all the embarrassment. At the rate he was going, he didn't care anymore if some stuff happen to spill out of his paper bag again.

"Wait, you left this!" Xyriel tried to shout for his attention while picking up the orange that had fallen down once again. But he ran so fast that they couldn't even see him anymore. Xyriel looked at Mitzi with the orange in her hand.

"Well, that was interesting." Mitzi, wearing a smile that reached from ear to ear, commented on the whole fiasco after being just a spectator at the side.

"Yeah, it certainly was." Xyriel could only laugh as she looked at the orange she was holding. She remembers the events earlier and can't help noticing that the guy had an uncanny resemblance to the orange with what having round cheeks and sunset hair which only fueled her laughter even more. _I hope we meet again, Little Round Orange guy._

 

* * *

 

 

Kiara is smart.

It was a fact that many people know.

She is actually at the top of her class and her IQ level is mind-blowingly high. She just didn’t show it most of the time. But just because she doesn’t act like a highly intellectual being doesn’t mean that she is not. She knows full well that her and her friends’ budget is limited (well until Xyriel’s credit card gets fixed and who knows when that’ll happen) and that they shouldn’t spend more than they should have, due to the tragic circumstance they were in. Not that she minds, they were in Korea—where KPOP was born. She would gladly be stuck there forever… just with money.

She glanced, once again, at the pamphlet with longing. She really wanted to go _there_ …

She turned and stared at the direction of her hotel with an apologetic smile. It wouldn’t hurt to spend a bit… and besides it was her _own_ money.

That was it. She decided. She was going _there_ and just had to spend her money wisely.

_I’m just going to spend 30% of the money I brought._

With a determined gaze, she walked down the path and followed the directions in the pamphlet, taking in all her surroundings so she wouldn’t get lost. It was one of those times she loved having photographic memory.

 _I’m just going to spend 30% of the money I brought…_ She kept repeating the statement in her head like a mantra. If she continued it, she was sure she would do such thing and her unnies wouldn’t even notice that she bought much. A confident smile made its way to her face.

 

 

…But there was no denying the fact that Kunieda Kiara had little self-control.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter's Question: 
> 
> Do you believe in love at first sight? Let us know what you think in the comments below! :D


	4. Into the Woods...

Mitzi was glad that their first day went better than expected.

  
Yes, it was stressful when they found out that the prize they won was literally just one-way; and yes, the hotel they stayed at wasn't particularly _the best_ ; and yes, they may have caused trouble for an innocent bystander; and yes, Kiara might have reduced the total amount of funds they have, but _hey_ , Mitzi thinks that they weren't all that bad. To Mitzi, life is a coin and there are always two sides. If a certain bad event happened, there would always be a good occurrence to balance it out. You just need to find it by looking at life in a different ( _more positive_ ) perspective.

  
_ Yin and yang _ , as her mother once said. _The world would be in chaos without balance._

  
And true to that, even if some of her friends agreed otherwise, every bad thing that happened to them that day had a good counterpart. Like, they learned that panicking wouldn't be helpful in situations in which you get stuck in a country. They learned the valuable skill of keeping cool and thinking logically in dire times. Mitzi was glad for that—she can use that skill when she finds out that there was a test and she forgot to study _again_.

  
Next, the hotel they stayed in may be small, but it was also good since it brought all of them together and strengthened their bond. Mitzi can't honestly think of any other time when she was that close with her friends—it was the closest she's been with them ( _literally_ ).

  
Third, even though they inconvenienced a certain orange-haired by-stander, they managed to practice their Korean in the process so it was a benefit. _A huge benefit, actually..._ Mitzi smirked as she recalled the event. Watching the orange-haired stutterer and her unnie was very amusing. It was really cute and fluffy she felt as if she just watched a romcom drama. She felt as if it was a scene ripped off straight from a fanfic. She had never seen something _that_ amusing in her entire life—and Xyriel’s blush and tsundere responses were solid gold when Mitzi teased her about it. Mitzi now has one heap of precious blackmail material.

  
However, the benefit she has in mind isn’t about the useful pictures she took and the amount of good stuff she can get by threatening to spread them on the internet. _No_. What she’s talking about is the benefit of the encounter for her dear friend Xyriel (and the heiress’ pretty much _non-existent_ love life).

  
Mitzi smirked as she leaned on the window of her aunt’s Kia Mohave, watching the buildings and trees of Korea pass by in a blur. She remembered everything that her mother said years ago, back when they were in China. She remembered her seven year-old self asking her mother what ‘fate’ was when she encountered the word.

  
_ “It is something that we, humans, cannot control,” her mother answered. “Everything that happens in our life is something planned for us. There’s no such thing as coincidence. Each meeting that we have with other people is important.” _

  
She remembered asking what ‘coincidence’ was after that.

  
Mitzi smiled at the memory. _Man, I should publish a book with all the wisdom I know. It’d help lots of people._

  
_ People like Xyriel, as a matter of fact. _

  
Mitzi strongly believes that Xy’s encounter with the _Orange Dude_ was no mere coincidence—it was _fate_. And even though Xyriel immediately shot the idea down when the second eldest said it, Mitzi was fully preparing herself to tell her friend—in the future—the satisfying sentence of, “I told you so.”

  
Man, she couldn’t wait.

  
“What are you smiling about there?” her aunt, Hong Aeri, asked. Mitzi shrugged. “Nothing, just thinking of something.”

  
Her aunt hummed. There was silence for a few minutes before her aunt spoke again. “Why are your friends dead tired?” she asked, glancing at the sleeping people in the backseat using the car’s rear-view mirror. Mitzi smirked at that.

  
“Well they crammed themselves in a hotel bed. No one could sleep comfortably in that situation.”

  
Her aunt raised an eyebrow. “And why are you not like them?”

  
“I kicked Erin off the couch and slept there instead. I didn’t have the best sleep, but I slept well enough.”

  
The forty-two year-old woman smirked. “You’re evil.”

  
“It runs in the genes.”

  
They both laughed.

  
A few minutes later, Hong Aeri sighed then reached out to pinch her niece’s cheeks. “I missed you.”

  
“I’m not a child anymore, Aunt Aeri.”

  
Aeri smiled. “True. You’re now a twenty year-old woman who was careless enough to get stuck in a country, without the proper funds to boot.”

  
Mitzi groaned at that. They were calculating their budget last night before they went to bed. It didn’t help that Kiara went home with a plastic bag full of cake and half of her pocket money left. The youngest was scolded hard by the others, but not Mitzi. She was looking at the positive side of things. _I can’t really complain when I get delicious cake for dinner, can I?_

  
“But you’re gonna help and feed us right, Aunt Aeri?” Mitzi asked, turning to her Aunt with puppy dog eyes. Her aunt didn’t even give Mitzi a glance. “You’re not a child anymore, right?”

  
Mitzi huffed. “You’re mean.”

  
“It runs in the genes.”

 

* * *

 

_South Korea is beautiful_ , Katarina declared as she took in the lush green trees of the mountains.

  
They just woke up a few minutes ago and were in time for them to see the gorgeous mountains as they entered Yanggu, Gangwon-do. Everything just seemed like a scene ripped off from a fairytale, and she can’t help but stare in awe. Glancing at her friends to see if they thought the same, she wasn’t disappointed.

  
Getting her phone from her bag, she rolled down the windows of the car to take everything into memory, and with a click, the photo was saved in her phone—and at the same time captured in her heart. She smiled as she positioned herself to take another again; she was glad she cleared her storage to make way for more pictures.

  
Rina had always been fond of taking pictures; it was something precious that brightens up her life, and it was evident from her full instagram feed. She can’t help but be fascinated at how the process works, and how something dynamic—with just a click or press of a button—be captured in one still picture. But the picture isn’t frozen—oh no. What Katarina loved best is how an unmoving photo in her hand can still tell a story worth remembering.

  
_A picture can paint a thousand words, after all._

  
She smiled as a breeze swept through her. Watching the scenes pass by, the magnificence and verdancy of what she’s seeing reminded her of a line of an author of a book she was currently reading, and she can’t help but relate.

  
_“I believed then that there was more to this world than meets the eye. Trees had spirits; the wind spoke. If you followed a toad or a raven deep into the heart of the forest, they were sure to lead you to something magical.”_

  
And that was what she was exactly feeling now. There seemed to be a certain aura in the air that tells her that something enchanting was about to happen. Something that was going to change their lives.

  
She can’t wait to arrive at their destination so she could follow a toad or raven deep (or other _tamer_ animals) into the comforting heart of the woods. She wanted to just let the wind guide her and the voices of nature to draw her in. She giggled realizing that she sounded like Pocahontas there. Her friends would surely tease her if she said it out loud, and it was due to this that she sometimes prefers to be quiet and muse in her own comfortable solitary world.

  
_But really, if there was indeed something wonderful and magical waiting at the other side, I don’t mind getting lost in the woods._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IA: SO I ACTUALLY DID END UP JINXING IT AND UPDATING MORE THAN A YEAR LATER *nervous laugh* AGAIN.  
> I am really sorry. Again.  
> BUT ANYWAY  
> I have a planner right now and a brand new list of New Year’s Resolutions so yes. I can do this.  
> I SWEAR TO BE A RESPONSIBLE AUTHOR.  
> anyway  
> so this chapter delves deeper into Mitzi and Rina’s personalities and lets y’all know them better. Rina though… she should know by now that she should be careful of what she wishes for. =P *wink* *wink*  
> Expect the next update two weeks (at most) from now! :D

**Author's Note:**

> IA: I swear we won't update after a year... //hides
> 
> gahsebun: //nervously laughs


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